January 24, 2009

McCoy makes tough decision, with Delhomme's help

After nine years working at the same place, it can be difficult moving not only yourself, but also your family across the country, even for a job promotion.

Living in Charotte, with her Dad working for the Carolina Panthers, was all 9-year-old Olivia McCoy had known.

So when her father, quarterbacks coach/passing game coordinator Mike McCoy, traveled to Denver recently to interview to become the Broncos offensive coordinator, it's understandable if she had some reservations.

But that's where Jake Delhomme, the Panthers' quarterback, came in. According to Mike McCoy, Delhomme talked to little Olivia and put her at ease, sharing that it was hard for him to leave the New Orleans Saints in 2003, but that coming to the Panthers was one of the best decisions he'd ever made.

The McCoy and Delhomme families have a close relationship, and now it'll need to be long distance.

But it was a good career move for McCoy, who becomes an offensive coordinator for the first time.

"It's a great opportunity," he told The Observer today, "to become a coordinator and to still work with the quarterbacks here in Denver."

McCoy said it wasn't easy to leave the Panthers, team owner Jerry Richardson and the Richardson family.

"I'm thankful to the Richardson family for everything they've done for my family, and to all the coaches and players I've worked with," he said. "That's why I have the opportunity I have now, because they made this opportunity possible for me."

Comments

This little anecdote is a snapshot of what is really going on with the Panthers. There are no bad feelings or tense moments which led to knee-jerk reactions of all these assistants moving elsewhere. In fact, it seems to be quite the opposite. Ask any coach or player and they will tell you they would go to war for Coach Fox. Fans find this hard to comprehend because of how reclusive he is when the lights go on. It seems that these coaches respect Fox so much that they have serious reservations about leaving what has been a successful organization under Fox's tenure. On the flip side, we read yesterday that Trgo had heard some of the posturing and ranting about his ineffectiveness as a DC and thought it would be best for Fox's success to move elsewhere. I hope anyone who thinks that all of these departures were an indictment on Fox wake up and smell the coffee. Would you stay at your job if you were offered a promotion and pay increase from you employer's direct competition. And if you did, would that be an indictment on your former employer? Take a step back for a second and realize the NFL is just like any other industry. You take these promotions and job opportunities because you never know if the chance comes again.

Posted by: mountaineerdynasty | Jan 24, 2009 12:26:13 PM

well put mountain

Posted by: Kevin | Jan 24, 2009 12:30:26 PM

I only got one question WHY!!! Why keep jake Delhomme he sucks and everyone knows it come on 4int and 2ff he lost dat game for everyone.I say trade delhomme for either another player or for a draft pick maybe to like detriot or Rams someone will take him but we dnt need him.We should get ried of JAKE and keep Julius Peppers he we need him and he desreves a good contract.Also pick up a good reciver or put jarret on the field he's big and young having him on the bench isn't helping his development.And if need be fire John Foxx dnt get me wrong I like foxx his cool but he just cant get the job done come on time to step up this teams level of play...

Posted by: steven | Jan 24, 2009 12:37:33 PM

Wow, nice to see a comment like mountain's that someone actually put some thought into........but then steven came along and ruined everything.

Posted by: rf | Jan 24, 2009 12:49:31 PM

Steven,

Jake Delhomme is a good quarterback.

He is also a professional player that plays with a lot of heart and desire.

He also has a positive influence on his fellow offensive players.

He also has won 10 of every 16 games during his entire career.

So shut up!

Posted by: 4gross | Jan 24, 2009 12:51:09 PM

Well said mountain. And very much agreed with by my part

Posted by: Panthe R ican | Jan 24, 2009 12:58:27 PM

Wow Steven, your grammar is terrible... and by the way, it was 5 interceptions and 1 fumble (not a forced fumble, he's not on defense moron). Did you even watch the game? I mean really, you sound like a complete idiot. Julius Peppers doesn't want to play here and he and Jake are way too inconsistent. It's time to move on and get some good draft picks or trade for Peppers and start molding a future Quarterback like Matt Moore, who I see some great undiscovered talent in waiting to be unleashed. I also see great raw talent in the D-Line with Charles Johnson (who only rotates in and has 4.5 sacks, get ready to see his breakout season next season) and Hilee Taylor has some great raw pass rushing ability, I love watching him when he comes in to replace Peppers. We will even add more talent to the D-Line when we trade for draft picks or just trade overall, but this coming draft don't be surprised if we go D-Line our first pick, which could come out of the 1st round considering we might trade for a 1st and 2nd/3rd round pick.

Posted by: Cameron | Jan 24, 2009 1:00:48 PM

Mountain awesome comment..!!! Very few of these folks have a clue... Steven - is a prime example, he can't spell, and shows his age.. and this after the Panthers go '12-4', win the South division, set several records, Steven still feels that we should fire everyone, and keep the one person, who is truly on the downside of his career. If we had kept Peppers, we would have had to over-pay him, for 4 to 5 yrs, then when he took games , seasons off, we wouldn't be able to dump him. Due to his large contract... I have a an idea fire all the fans that think like Steven ..!! They don't deserve a winning Home NFL team.. they would settle for a team made up of individuals, and not a true team..

Posted by: Catsnmbr1fan | Jan 24, 2009 1:12:40 PM

Also, not sure if anyone has seen this yet but Jay Glazer is reporting Herm Edwards does not want to be a DC. And that decision is probably warranted as he has never been a DC, only a DB's coach with the Jets where he was promoted to head coach. He has no real connection to Fox so I think that might be out as a possibility. I wouldn't mind Haslett coming on as some sort of position coach. But he has proven his worth as a DC in this league, or lack thereof. This is a sticky situation as there isn't any sort of candidate that leaps of the paper, while many think we should look for an "up and comer" to take the reigns, I can't imagine Fox taking such a risk as he is ultimately the one held accountable for any failures. Any ideas?

Sean McDermott will BE a DC somewhere soon, and to me, looks like he has the stuff potentially to be a Head Coach some day.

I'd like him to bring his experience with the aggressive defense of the Eagles over to the Panthers.

Whether he's available is unknown to me, however.

Posted by: bigdavis | Jan 24, 2009 1:38:37 PM

He has definitely risen up the ranks, and fast! Also, anybody associated Jim Johnson in A-OK in my book.

Posted by: mountaineerdynasty | Jan 24, 2009 1:44:29 PM

Too many fans these days take a Madden approach to the real world of NFL football. Yank this player/coach out, put this player/coach in, and let's play football. It doesn't work like that, it isn't easy. These are people with families and history and desires and relationships. There are emotions and futures involved. There are finances to consider, the team's and the individual's. Thank God that Mr. Richardson understands what it is really all about.

Well done, mountaineer. Well done.

Posted by: mys | Jan 24, 2009 2:54:13 PM

Mountain, just when you sounded smart you didn't do your research on one thing. "He has no real connection to Fox so I think that might be out as a possibility". John Fox and Herm Edwards played college football together. They are both good defensive coaches, even though Herm Edwards does not want a DC position and rather be a DB coach. So this "no real connection" is not true. Fox would actually welcome the thought of Herm Edwards as his future DB coach, and I wouldn't be surprised if this happened.

Posted by: Cameron | Jan 24, 2009 3:30:40 PM

i agree with Cameron! smart fan! I said it years ago while watching D willaims rotate with foster against the cardinals in AZ that williams would be a future starter and most dissagreed with me but a year later the double trouble tag team was born, and that same year after Vinnie got a little too aged to finish (no disrespect to vinnie he's one my fav's) I saw No. 3 showing some great potential and i said to myself that he would be our future, he's greatly talented, he just needs to see some playing time, also jarret is proving to be an exceptional receiver he pretty much caught everything that was thrown to him especially at crucial times and he's big enought to draw PI flags, tag Peppers and get some draft picks. And to all the fans keep your heads high we came so far from last year being a total train wreck and lets hope for another good year and a better finish!

Posted by: birdman760 | Jan 24, 2009 4:08:33 PM

hopefully the new guy has the balls to got to fox and tell him to pull jake. someone hired a coach who needed to be fired

Posted by: angry psl owner | Jan 24, 2009 6:41:17 PM

Aha. Steven is a PSL owner. ijit.

Posted by: Roger | Jan 24, 2009 8:05:30 PM

Excuse me, Cameron. What I should have said is there is no real professional connection between Herm and Foxy. I went to high school with a lot of kids, it doesn't mean I should hire them for my own company. It's called cronyism and it is highly frowned upon in most professions. Just because you're friends with someone doesn't exactly mean they are the best fit. And I would be willing to bet Herm Edwards will not be any coach for the Panthers this coming season. ProFootballTalk.com is reporting the Colts is a realistic possibility and made no mention of your so-called "connection" between Fox and Edwards.

Posted by: mountaineerdynasty | Jan 24, 2009 8:16:53 PM

Steven has a small mind and a big mouth.

Posted by: DanCat | Jan 24, 2009 8:36:12 PM

Well whether their relationship has ever reached professional altitudes that is one thing, and you are correct, but they do have one advantage, and that is knowing the other person. They understand one another, just like you would with your brother or sister, you would personally know them and the decisions that they would make, so there for their "connection" would be to an advantage, whether it's professional or not. Also, what a website such as Profootballtalk.com says and what happens is completely two different things. I never said that their was a 100% chance that Edwards would come and help coach, but I did say that they had a very strong relationship with one another, and that is true. So don't be surprised if some on going communication comes up between Fox and Edwards, because from what I have heard, they stay in touch on a regular basis.

Things happen, and with all the surprising moves going around with the Panthers, this could be one of them, not saying it will happen, but I am saying don't be shocked if it does.

Posted by: Cameron | Jan 24, 2009 10:49:38 PM

My new years resolution is to become a PSL owner myself.

Posted by: Revshawn | Jan 24, 2009 11:20:44 PM

Peppers (and the rest of the defense: especially the coaches) has an issue with Jake giving games away. So do 77 percent of the fans!! They are keeping Jake and losing the key component to so many victories by this franchise. Now they bring this guy in to allegedly help a 35-year-old QB go back to getting better at the basics!?? What a joke.

BTW, Why did the Charlotte Observer take down that "what to do with Jake" poll. Did the results reflect too much of the truth??? What a communist/hick propaganda pamphlet this paper turned out to be!

Posted by: Keeping It Real | Jan 25, 2009 12:39:05 AM

Hopefully McCoy takes Jake with him...!!!

Posted by: Keeping It Real | Jan 25, 2009 12:41:09 AM

SYPRIS I mean Keeping It Real well put my man!!! Hilarious stuff too, the Gohomme poll. LMAO!! The Panthers are ALWAYS going to be stuck in neutral with Fox and his son Gohomme. Who cares about 12-4, the Panthers are sitting at home watching a team win 9 games in the regular season play in the superbowl, a team they couldnt stop on defense thanks to one wide reciever and a QB who threw 5 interceptions and fumbled.

Posted by: marvel | Jan 25, 2009 9:30:34 AM

I will never forget the first regular season game Jake played QB for the Panthers--down 17 - 0 at halftime and Fox pulls Peete and Jake throws for 3 TDs and gets us the win. Amazing. I had high hopes--especially after we went to the Super Bowl. Having said that, we saw the "real Jake" in 2004. There is no "good Jake, bad Jake". There's just "Jake". You can argue all you want to with me but a good QB doesn't wilt at the end of the season. A GREAT QB leads his team through the crucible of the playoffs. Jake is barely mediocre. I believe that having Jake as our QB and Fox as our coach has cost us at least two additional trips to the Super Bowl. Jake is a fine human being and a great citizen of Charlotte. So am I. Doesn't mean that you want me as QB for the Panthers.

If I started talking about Fox, I'd use up all the space. Suffice it to say that the man doesn't have a creative bone in his body.

Did anybody see what one of the Cardinals defensive players said in the post game interview? When asked about Fox's offensive play calling, he smirked, laughed and said "We didn't see anything we didn't expect to see. H#ll, the whole NFL can tell you what Coach Fox's plays are. We knew we were going to win after their first drive. Nothing new. We just had to stop them and we did".

Mr. Richardson--you have my eternal respect for the organization you have built with the Panthers; but, please, get rid of Jake and give Fox a different position within the organization. Our window for winning the Super Bowl with Steve Smith and the outstanding skill players we have has just about closed. Also, don't resign Peppers. Let him walk.

Posted by: Matt | Jan 25, 2009 9:57:10 AM

Are you kidding me? I don't know which season you were watching, but the defense was terrible. Jake has nothing to do with the fact that they could not stop anyone on 3rd down all year. Everyone keeps bringing up this one game. Yes it was a playoff game, but it is also against the team that is in the Super Bowl. The reason we watch the NFL is because any team can beat any other team on any given day.